Pip's Original

Pip's Original, located in a low-key area of Northeast Portland, specializes in made to order mini donuts, served alongside gigantic mugs of Extracto coffee. They do one thing and one thing only, and they do it well. We sampled the cinnamon + sugar, honey + sea salt, and sea salt + nutella varieties.

 

 

A decadent and sweet weekend treat. Also, gotta give it up for anyone with this stellar of a succulent and agate display.

Overcooked Quinoa Remedies

So, what do you do when your boyfriend, bless his heart, overcooks a (gigantic) pot of quinoa to the point of it resembling a tub of wallpaper paste? Answer: stop bitchin' and get creative!

 

Make chipotle quinoa bean burgers with sweet corn relish and tex-mex inspired toppings. Ole!

 

 

 

 Eat it as breakfast cereal with almonds, dried berries and coconut milk! Yum!

 

Or, make seared quinoa patties with my now favorite charred corn salad topped with lime cumin vinaigrette!

 

Sometimes, things happen for a reason.

Veggie Terrine

Another day, another veggie dish!

This terrine comes together super quick and is a great way to use up whatever random assortment of produce you may have lurking around in your fridge. For this version I used eggplant, kale and zucchini.

First, make a simple marinara. I used canned tomatoes, garlic, shallot and apple cider vinegar. I swirled in a little bit of almond milk to cream things up a bit, and let it simmer until thickened.

Par-cook your veggies until they have softened but aren't cooked through. Vary the slice width of the veggie based on how fast they tend to cook. I didn't precook the zuke, considering it cooks in roughly 5 seconds time.

Then, layer a baking dish or dutch oven with veggies, sauce, and cheese of your choice. I topped mine with a medley of goat cheese, cotija and Parmesan.

Bake at 400 degrees for about twenty minutes, and broil for a touch if the top has yet to turn a lovely shade of golden brown.

Charred Corn Tacos

Corn is probaby one of my top ten favorite things about summer. Probably even in my top five food faves.
Grilled corn, corn salsa, cornbread, corn pudding, corn relish. I could go on for days.

One thing that is not include anywhere it my top ten faves? Taco seasoning.

Prepacked varieties tend to be super salty, overwhelming, and lead me to wonder, what is the taste of a 'taco' supposed to be, anyway? The recipe below is an exception, and something I will certainly be keeping on hand to pull together some veggie tacos in a pinch.

Homemade Taco Seasoning via Joy the Baker

2 spoonfuls chili powder

1 spoonful ground cumin
1 spoonful smoked paprika
1 spoonful dried oregano
1 spoonful garlic powder
1 spoonful onion powder
half a spoonful coriander
half a spoonful salt
half a spoonful crushed red pepper flakes

Broccoli and White Bean Soup with Spinach and Toasted Almonds

Fall has dangling its cool temperatures and smells of damp leaves in my face for the past 48 hours. Before the heat returns this weekend, I had to make some soup!

Sauteed onions, garlic and shallot built up the base for this soup. Add broccoli (steamed), spinach, cannellini beans, almond milk, a splash of apple cider vinegar, lemon juice and your broth of choice, and blend.

Then, top with some toasted nuts, ladle into a mug, light a candle, crack open a book, stoke a fire, lay on a bearskin rug etc.